With a shortened format, Texas barbeque and plenty of laughs (as host Bill Frawley constantly changed its theme), the 2012 TTI Day was one of the most memorable of all the 18 annual gatherings.
Held at the Brazos County Expo Center May 1, 362 current and former employees attended TTI Day, an Institute-wide day of reflection and celebration begun nearly two decades earlier by Herb Richardson. The current director emeritus was recognized by his successor, Agency Director Dennis Christiansen. “Herb left TTI in such good shape that six years of me has not been able to screw it up yet,” he told the crowd before he began his State of the Institute address.
“The strength of this organization is the people who are in this room,” Christiansen said, informing employees that, despite the economy, contract expenditures for the year will match those from last year and the number of employees has remained the same. “We’ve been successful enough in diversifying our portfolio that we have not had to go through the kind of layoffs that many parts of the A&M System have experienced.”
Among the other positives Christiansen mentioned:
- TTI has the second lowest turnover rate in The Texas A&M University System.
- TTI has become even more recognized and respected across the state, especially among members of the Texas Legislature.
- Employees have received numerous state and national awards for their work.
- TTI’s Freight Shuttle System has garnered a lot of attention at the state and national levels.
As for goals going forward, Christiansen urged employees to strengthen the relationship with TxDOT, TTI’s biggest sponsor, especially since there’s been a leadership change in that agency. Because of the likelihood that transportation budgets at TxDOT and on the national level will decrease in the future, Christiansen said an expansion of both traditional and non-traditional funding sources is necessary.
“We are the biggest and the best. We have a breadth and depth of capability that is unmatched in this country,” he said. “We really are the 800-pound gorilla in what we do. We have 60 years of success behind us, and there’s no reason we won’t have that going forward.”
A big proponent of TTI and its Freight Shuttle, Chancellor John Sharp was the keynote speaker. He told the group that, excluding legislators and TTI sponsors, most people don’t realize the Institute is part of The Texas A&M University System. He addressed his desire to somehow associate the A&M name more closely with all the system agencies, including TTI.
“I want to find some link in the name between all the agencies and Texas A&M University,” Sharp said. “We are trying to figure out how to do the marketing in such a way to make sure people understand that we are all in the same family. Those are the kinds of things that you and I may have some disagreement on. We are trying to figure out how to get past that.”
Sharp said that TTI employees are an invaluable asset to the state of Texas and the A&M System — saving tens of thousands of lives across the country and around the world. “This is the place where the research is done that makes the biggest difference in people’s lives. I will work nonstop with the legislature to further the goal of this [agency] being maintained as the best transportation institute on planet Earth,” he said.
Other highlights from TTI Day included several videos showcasing various research projects in finance, transit and sustainability being conducted within the Institute. Also, the members of the fifth Delta-T Class were announced: Akram Abu-Odeh, Rafael Aldrete, Trey Baker, Scott Cooner, Suzie Edrington, Andy Garner, Jeremy Johnson, Brian Long, Jett McFalls, Chris Pourteau, Tara Ramani and Teresa Qu.
Also, the Institute bestowed the TTI Diversity Service Award on Research Specialist Debbie Jasek in its inaugural year. “Debbie’s passion has been focused on developing nontraditional career candidates — minority females, disadvantaged, rural and otherwise underrepresented students. That makes her an outstanding choice for the TTI Diversity Service Award,” Lance Bullard said in presenting the honor. “Debbie truly personifies this award.”
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